Building construction



Nov. 5,1935. s. A. JENKINS 2,019,707

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed June 8, 1933 s sheet -sheet 1 \i k N ZZZ/67751 5anzueLdJerz/a'rz5;

Nov. 5,-1935.

s. A. JENKINS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed June 8, 1953 :s Sheets-Sheet 2 s. A. JENKINS BUILDING CONSTRUCTIOfi Filed June 8, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 5, 1935.

a \WHRVIIII'III Patented Nov. s, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Samuel A. Jenkins, Hibbing, Minn.

Application June 8, 1933, Serial No. 674,903

10Claims. (cl. lac-1) The invention relates to a building unit for the construction of walls, floors, ceilings or roofs, and has more particular reference to a metallic building unit and a joint fastener for securing the units together to make a close-weather-tight joint.

An object of the invention is to provide a building unit having universal application in the constructionof walls, floors or roofs, a unit of which may be detachably joined to other units to make a secure joint and a section of adequate strength,

and which joint will provide supporting elements for retaining surfacing material.

' Another object of the invention resides in the provision of novel rolled steel shapes for use with the units.

Another object is to provide a building unit of steel or other metal which may be rolled or pressed, which will be load bearing forming outside walls, floors and roofs without the separate use of studs or rafters and which will makefor simple erection with a great saving in time.

With these-and various other objects in view, the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawings and claims appended hereto.

' In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the device and wherein like reference characters are used to designate like parts- Figure '1 is an isometric view of a building constructed of the building units forming the subject matter of the present invention with parts being broken away to show details of structure;

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are perspective views showin various forms of building units constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the rod forming the joint fastener for the units;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 of Figure j Figure 7 is a vertical sectionalviewtaken through a gabled building constructed of the building units of the invention;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken transversely, through a number of connected units to show the manner of connection by use of the joint fastener of Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a detail sectional view showing the manner of attaching the units to the sill beam;

Figure 10 is a detail sectional view showing the manner of supporting the gable roof from the outside wall beam, and

Figure 11 is a detail sectional view of the joint forming the ridge of the gable roof.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1, the present invention is shown forming the load hearing walls of a typical rectangular flat roofed building in which it represents the concrete foundation, supporting in accordance with the invention 5 the rolled steel shape I I providing the sill for the structure. The sill extends on all sides of the foundation, being supplemented at the corners by corner pieces l2 having certain characteristics as to shape which approach in similarity those of 10 the sill to carry out the decorative features of V this part of the foundation.

The sill is substantially U-shaped in cross section, as shown in Figure 9, having a water table l3 to the outside thereof, and a bearing ledge I4 dis- 15 posed inwardly for supporting the floor units. The top and the inside web of the sill has a plurality of clips l5 and I6, respectively, punched therefrom at intervals, which serve to detachably unite the building units to the sill as will be more 20 particularly described.

In Figures 2, 3 and 4 are shown various forms of building units 20, 2| and 22 which according to the invention may be of any width, height or depth and may be made from any suitable metal 25 such as steel of any desired thickness, although strength and economy in manufacture will largely determine the thickness of the unit for any particular structure. The body portion of the unit 'of Figure 2 is arched at 23, while unit 2l is provided with a flat surface 24, whereas, the surfacing of the unit shown in Figure 4 is corrugated as shown at 25. The sides of the units are identical, being provided with a groove 26 extending longitudinally thereof, having openings 21 and transverse grooves 28 communicating therewith and formed in the side portions at intervals staggered with respect to the openings 21. An inwardly directed flange 30 terminates the sides which in the completed unit are joined to each other by end 40 portions 1 and 32 forming the top and bottom of the unit, respectively. For increasing the height or length of the units several may be attached together and for this reason the top end portion 3 is provided with outwardly projecting clips 33, 45 while thebottom is formed'with slots 34 for re- 1 ceiving the projecting clips on the unit attached thereto. The end sections are welded or otherwise secured to the body portion of the unit and although itis contemplated that one be provided 50 with projecting clips and the other end with slots these elements may be varied to suit conditions determined by the use to be made of the units.

In addition to the building up of the units to increase their height or length by securing the 55 top end portion of one to the bottom end of the other it is further contemplated that the units be joined along their sides to form a section which will have utility as a load bearing outside wall, partition, floor or roof. The longitudinal groove 28 formed in the sides of the units is adapted to receive the rod having the threaded studs 36 projecting therefrom in opposed directions at intervals throughout the length of the rod and extending through openings 21. Also projecting from the rod at intervals in staggered relation with respect to the threaded studs are prongs 31 being received in grooves 28 of the units andextending a distance beyond the flanges 30 to provide supporting means for surfacing material, as for example, metal lath over which is applied a foundation layer of mortar with a finishing coat of plaster. The manner of joining the units is more clearly shown in Figure 8 in which it will be noted that the threaded studs receive screws 38 to securely lock the sides of the units to the rod 34 and thus to each other, making a secure water-proof joint and a builtup section of adequate strength and rigidity.

In the building shown in Figure 1, the vertical walls consist of the building units 2| connected to each other by the rod 35 as described and to the foundation shape 1 I by means of locking pins 39 located in apertures provided in the clips struck from the web of the sill and which extend through slots 34 in the end portion of the building unit. The flooring is constructed in a like manner and may consist of any type of building unit of a length to extend from the bearing ledge H on one side of the foundation to the ledge on the opposite side. As the inside web of the sill has punched therefrom the clips l6, both ends of the flooring unit should be provided with slots 34 for receiving the clips which in turn receive locking pins securely holding the parts together.

Throughout the length of the vertical walls the joint fastener provides inwardly extending prongs 31 to which is secured wall board 40,.metal lath or the like for receiving the interior wall surfacing.

The ceiling of the present structure is also formed of units of any type, as shownin Fig-' u'res 2, 3 or 4, although the drawings for purposes of illustration show units 2| connected by the rod 35 to each other, the rod in this structural section extending horizontally and providing depending prongs for supporting the surfacing material 4| forming the ceiling. Spread over the units 2| forming the roof is a layer of roofing material 42 such as prepared asphalt which is securely united to the units by reason of the longitudinal grooves formed therein, while a surfacing of concrete 43 is supported by the flooring units as shown in Figure 9.

It will be noted that a special unit. 44, having a corrugated surface and being substantially square in cross section, serves to complete the ends of the building, having sides provided with the necessary grooves and openings for receiving the joint fastener 35 which connects this corner unit with those forming the side walls. The thickness of the present unit has been designed so that an air space will exist between the outer wall of the unit-and the'interior wall ber of structural steel shapes of special design are necessary. In Figure 7 the outer walls are shown capped by a rolled steel shape 46 for connecting the vertical walls 41 with the units forming the ceiling 48 and for supporting the units 43 5 supported on the vertical webs with the outer web passing through the units and being united thereto by the locking wedge 53.

The rolled steel shape 54, Figure 11, supports 20 the inner ends of the units forming the roof 49 and provides the ridge 'of the gable, the shape in turn resting on a center partition 55. 'Angular flanges 56 and 51 engage respectively with the end and corner of the units, which in turn 25 are united to the shape and to each other by clips '33 passing throughopenings in the flanges and receiving locking pins as described.

From the above description it will be apparent that the present invention provides a building 30 unit having universal application in the construction of load bearing walls and which when used in conjunction with specially designed shapes provides a gabled roof and which does not require the separate use of studs or rafters. As the 35 joint between the units is made weather-tight by the use of the novel joint fastener the walls constructed of the units do not require exterior surfacing although surfacing in some cases may be desirable, for example, the roofing material 42 applied to the roof structure. of Figure 1.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited by the exact embodiment of the device shown, which is merely by way of illustration and not limitation, as various and other. forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim: I 1. A metal building construction comprising-in combination, a load bearing building unit having means for securing other units thereto in end to end relation, and a joint fastener for uniting the units along the sides thereof, said fastener comprising a rod and the sides of said units being 55 grooved longitudinally for receiving the rod.

2. A metal building construction comprising in combination, a load bearing building unit having means for securing other units thereto in end to end relation, and means separable from the units for uniting them along their sides, said last mentioned means including a rod located between the units and extending longitudinally thereof.

3. A metal building construction comprising in combination, a load bearing building unit having 05 means for securing other units thereto in end to end relation, and means separable from the units for uniting them along their sides, said last mentioned means including a rod located between the units and extending longitudinally thereof, and means on the rod projecting from the units for supporting surfacing material.

4. A building unit including an arch-shaped body portion having a groove in each side longitudinally thereof, and end sections secured to the I body portion, one end section having clips punched from the material thereoi! and the other end section being slotted.

5. A metallic building unit including an archshaped body portion having a groove in each side longitudinally thereof, each groove having spaced openings therein and a plurality of transverse grooves communicating with the longitudinal groove, and end sections secured to the body portion, one end section having clips punched from the material thereof and the other end section being slotted. p

6. A metal building construction comprising in combination, a load bearing unit including abody portion formed to provide a plurality of arches transversely of the unit, longitudinal grooves in the sides of the body portion, each groove having spaced openings therein, a plurality of horizontal grooves connecting with the longitudinal grooves and extending to the edge of the body portion, and end sections secured to the body portion.

'1. A metal building construction comprising in combination, a load bearing unit including a body portion formed to provide a plurality of arches transversely of the unit, longitudinal grooves in the sides'of the body portion, each groove having spaced openings therein, a plurality of horizontal grooves connecting with the longitudinal grooves and extending end'sections secured to the body portion, one end section having clips punched from the material thereof and the other end section having spaced slots therein.

8. A metal building construction comprising in combination, a load bearing unit including a body portion formed to provide a plurality oiarches transversely oithe unit, longitudinal grooves in the sides '0! the body portion, each groove having the rod projectingithrough to the edge of the body portion,

thereof for uniting adjacent units.

' 1 SAMUEL A spaced openings therein, a plurality of horizontal grooves communicating with the longitudinal grooves and extending to the edges of the body portion, means separable from the units and uniting them along their sides, said means in- 5 eluding a rod for location between the units and within the longitudinal grooves therein, studs on side openings for uniting the unitsand the rod, and means fixed to the rod for location within the horizontal grooves, 10 said means extending from the edges or the units for supporting surfacing material. I

9. In building constructio the combination with a rolled steel shape having spaced slots therein, of a metal building unit adapted to be 5 load bearing and including a body portion formed to provide a plurality of arches transversely of the unit, and end sections joined to the body portion, one end section having clips punched from the metal thereof, the other section havin 20 spaced slots therein, whereby said unit is'joined to the steel shape and to the other units, and a rod extending between units longitudinally thereof for uniting adjacent units, said rod providing means for supporting surfacing material. 25 10. In building constructio the combination with a foundation sill having projecting clips on the top web or side web thereof, of a metal building unit adapted to be load bearing and including a liody'portion tormedto provide a plurality of 30 arches transversely of the unit, and end sections joined to the body portion, one end section having ,clipspunchedirom the metal thereof, the other section having spaced slots therein, whereby said unit is joined to the sill and to other units, and a rod extending between longitudinally mums. 

